Claim and optimize your Google Maps, Google Places, Google Plus, and Google+ Local listings. Have a greater understanding of how people search for travel information on Google and TripAdvisor.com

1. Claim and Optimize Your
Google and TripAdvisor
Presence
by Mary Anne Baker

2. About Mary Anne
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Owner of INNsights Internet Marketing, based
in Sylva, NC.
28 Years Experience in Destination Marketing,
Tourism, and Hospitality as the VP of a large
resort company in Florida.
Originally from Ohio, spent 28 years in Florida,
moved full time to the Sylva area in 2011.
Dedicated to helping small business owners
market their businesses on the Internet so that
today's consumer can find them.

3. What You Will Learn in This Class:
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This class is for local businesses who want
to be found on the internet locally.
By claiming and optimizing your free Internet
local listings, your business will become
visible on local search results and on mobile
phone map searches.
For tourism-related businesses (lodging,
dining, attractions), we will take a look at
TripAdvisor and how to maximize your
presence there.

4. Introduction:
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The way consumers find a local business has
fundamentally changed in the last few years. Small
businesses can no longer rely on printed directories,
local advertising, or passing foot traffic to attract new
customers.
o When was the last time you saw someone walking
around town with a paper map in their hands?
An effective internet marketing strategy for any
business must now include
o Website
o Facebook Business Page
o Local Internet Listings (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc)
o TripAdvisor Management for Lodging, Dining,
Attractions.

5. How Consumers Search for a Local
Business
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97% of consumers search for a business on the Internet.
2/3 of consumers use local search weekly and even more
importantly 70% of mobile searches lead to action within
one hour.
You no longer control how people find you. Therefore, it is
essential to have your information everywhere that
consumers search.
People who search on mobile apps aren't just browsing
the web, they are actively looking for a place to eat, stay,
or shop. If you’re not listed, they won’t find you.

6. What is Local Search?
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Local search is any type of search, whether
from a desktop or mobile device, that
includes the name of the city/town within the
search term.
Also known as “geo-targeted” keywords,
examples include:
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Restaurants in Clayton
Shopping in Dillard, GA
Clayton Hotels

7. What You Need to Know About
Google and Local Search
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In MOST cases, your free Google Local Listing and/or
your Facebook Business Page will show up in local
search results long before your website will.
If you’re in the lodging or dining industries, you’re
competing in search results with TripAdvisor, Expedia,
Priceline, Yelp, etc.
Claiming and optimizing your local listings is FREE.
Today’s class will show you the hands-on process to
claim and optimize your Google Local Listing. Yahoo and
Bing have the same capabilities, and links to those will be
provided at the end of this class.

8. What You Need to Know About
Google Local
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Every business listing must have a mailing address. If
you work from home or you are a mobile business you
can specify a “service area” in the sign up process and
choose to hide your physical address.
There should be only one listing per physical location.

9. What You Need to Know About
Google Local
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Make sure that your basic information (name, address
and phone number) is exactly the same in all places so
that Google will find a correlation between them:
o Website
o Facebook and other social media
o Internet local listings
For example:
o If you use “GA” on your website, don’t use “Georgia”
in other places
o If you abbreviate “East” on your website, don’t use
“E.” in other places.
For internet local listings ALWAYS use your local
number; not an 800 number.

10. How to Get Listed in Google's Local
Search Results:
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New features coming soon - Over the next months,
Google is making lots of changes to improve their local
listings experience and bring the community, identity,
sharing & relationships of Google+ to local businesses.
Understand that these terms are interchangeable:
o Google+
o Google Places
o Google+ Local
o Google Maps
Let’s take a look at Google Local Search.

11. TripAdvisor - What Is It?
TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel
community. Used primarily for lodging,
restaurants, and attractions. Does not include
retail.
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More than 260 million monthly visitors
Covering more than 3.1 million accommodations,
restaurants, and attractions.
Over 125 million reviews and opinions
34 countries in 21 languages
69 million people have downloaded the various
TripAdvisor apps onto their mobile devices.

12. TripAdvisor - Set Up Your Listing
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Go to www.tripadvisor.com and search for your
business. If it is already listed, scroll to the bottom of the
listing, and look for - Owners: What's your side of the
story? If you own or manage “___________________”,
register now for free tools to enhance your listing,
attract new reviews, and respond to reviewers.
Click on “Manage Your Listing”, where you will be
prompted to set up a business account and create your
listing.

13. TripAdvisor Continued:
If your business is not listed, go to:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/GetListedAccommodation for
accommodations
http://www.tripadvisor.com/GetListedRestaurant for
restaurants
http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/getlisted_attraction_new.
html for attractions
http://www.flipkey.com/list/ for vacation rentals (these are
paid listings, however a free trial is offered)

14. Other Search Engine Local Listings
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Yahoo: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/
Bing: www.BingBusinessPortal.com
MapQuest (formerly AOL):
https://listings.mapquest.com/apps/listing

15. Other Internet Directory Sites:
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Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/
FourSquare: http://business.foursquare.com/
www.CitySearch.com
www.Local.com
www.YP.com

16. For Restaurants Only
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www.UrbanSpoon.com
www.OpenTable.com
www.MenuPages.com
www.WhereToEat.com

17. Additional Information
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To ensure that your small business is listed in
major search directories for your small
business, go to Google.com and search for
your business - including the name of your
city/town.
Click on every search result on the first 2-3
pages (not local results), to see what
directories are coming up strong in Google
search - Chances are very good that listings on
these sites are free - you just have to claim
them and update them.